Antique motorcycle a rare treat at DeLand rally

Saturday

Mar 8, 2014 at 8:59 PMMar 8, 2014 at 10:20 PM

“You just don’t see this stuff anymore,” John Vodde said of his 1912 Harley-Davidson X8A.

By Katie Kusturakatie.kustura@news-jrnl.com

DELAND — With motorcycles of all kinds and colors lining the main drag Saturday during the 10th Annual DeLand Bike Rally, it could have been easy to miss some of the real treasures that make it to Bike Week.But in the Wells Fargo parking lot on East Indiana Avenue — past vendors, the Wounded Warriors Project’s tent and the Issues Stage — was a bike that celebrated its 102nd birthday this year.“You just don’t see this stuff anymore,” John Vodde said of his 1912 Harley-Davidson X8A.Saturday was the second day of Bike Week, and sunny skies with temperatures in the mid 60s brought out bikers in droves across Volusia and Flagler counties. Traffic slowed to a crawl in places like Destination Daytona north of Ormond Beach and Main Street in Daytona Beach, while the fried seafood crowd lined up their bikes along State Road A1A at Snack Jack’s in Flagler Beach.DeLand got its share, with tens of thousands of bikers rumbling through historic downtown.Lori Johnson, manager of the Mainstreet Grill, said the restaurant did really well, but not as well as last year when inclement weather left them packed with patrons. Over at Lace & Accessories, manager Sandy Chavez said colorful caps with “bling” were big sellers Saturday.Vodde’s bike may not have had the same sparkle as Chavez’s caps, but it still managed to catch several pairs of eyes.“It’s something that draws a crowd,” Vodde, of Fort Wayne, Ind., said. “People just go crazy when they see it up and running.”Vodde, 62, had already taken the motorcycle, known as the Silent Gray Fellow, out for a ride by the time Orlando resident Phil Musarra laid eyes on it.“Four horsepower?!” Musarra said to his friend in disbelief after reading the sign in front of Vodde’s bike.Vodde made sure to tell Musarra, 50, it actually had five horsepower and that the man who made his display sign got it wrong.Regardless of the one-horse difference, Musarra was impressed.“I haven’t seen one of these in a while,” Musarra said as he admired Vodde’s bike.Lucky for the Orlando resident and other Bike Week visitors hoping to see a piece of history, Vodde operates by the belief that his bike was built to ride, not to collect dust in museum, at least not yet.Vodde said giving the younger generation a chance to see, even touch, a bike like his may help reinforce their passion for motorcycles and open up their eyes to more than just sport bikes.He said telling children they can’t touch the motorcycles just for fear they may scratch it isn’t going to motivate them to get into the motorcycle hobby.“That’s what touch-up paint is for,” Vodde said.Included in that younger generation is 19-year-old Marshall Bell, who attended Bike Week for the first time last year after buying a Honda CBR.Bell, of Lake Helen, said there are some older bikes that he appreciates, but, for now, he plans on sticking with sport bikes, which were sparse Saturday afternoon in downtown DeLand.“It’s a lot of just Harleys now,” Bell said. “I think they’re something you grow into.”